We Try JOANN’s New Print-On-Demand Fabric Service, MyFabric

I love the sweet spot for mixing technology and craft so I jumped at the opportunity to test out JOANN’s MyFabric, a new service joining the world of print on demand fabric. I’m most familiar with Spoonflower, which offers print on demand of your own designs or those created by other designers, and Hawthorne Supply Co, which offers print on demand of their in-house designs. And finally, I’ve recently become a designer at Honest Fabric, a new print on demand service focusing on large print areas (intended for quilting). I ordered two different substrates from JOANN’s MyFabric, and here I’ll share some details about that process and my experience.

First Impressions

When I first visited the MyFabric listing page, I found 4,500+ designs to be a little overwhelming. While I was able to filter the designs (by collection, style, etc.), my initial reaction was “Where do I begin?!”. Outside of the search filtering, the only starting point I saw was a few targeted collections (e.g. modern farmhouse, black & white) shown on the landing page.

Customizable fabric listing page for JOANN MyFabric.

From browsing, I quickly determined that JOANN’s MyFabric is limiting printing to in-house designs and I reviewed JOANN’s press release on MyFabric to confirm. Users can modify repeat type and scale in all of the designs, and color choices in some of the designs (this is not clearly indicated).

MyFabric currently sits as a hybrid between Spoonflower and Hawthorne Supply Co: users are limited to specific designs, but pattern scale, pattern repeat type, color, and substrate can be customized. The press release indicates that MyFabric will expand to allow customers to upload their own designs in early 2019, although there’s no indication that MyFabric will include a marketplace like Spoonflower where designers can make their designs for sale to the public and earn a cut for each yard sold. The technology driving the customization and the printing is provided by Durham, North Carolina-based WeaveUp.

EDIT (Added January 10th): Thanks to feedback on this post, I’ve quickly gained more insight into how WeaveUp works. It appears that JOANN’s is selling designs provided by the designers from the WeaveUp community, without mention of the designer’s name on JOANN’s website. Although, I will note that one of my fabric selvages included a designer name that left me puzzled. You can browse the WeaveUp fabric here and they offer a valuable Starter Kit to examine the substrates and color printing behavior.

Customization

After I selected two designs I liked (shelly and Breakfast Party), I clicked on the “Customize this Fabric” option on the product detail page to go to a full-width customization page. I modified the colors and scale of the repeatable pattern in shelly, and I modified the scale of the pattern only in Breakfast Party.

Example Screenshot of JOANN MyFabric customization of fabric including repeat pattern and scale.

After I saved each customization, I returned to the product detail page to select a substrate. I ordered one yard of silk cotton voile in the customized shelly design, and one yard of 4-way knit in the customized Breakfast Party design. I couldn’t find more information about the substrates I was ordering, which made for a difficult user experience. According to the press release, physical stores will carry the fabric options for any customers who would like to touch and see the substrates before ordering.

Clicking “About Fabrics” on the product detail page did not provide any fabric information (on a desktop browser). From the MyFabric landing page, there is a popup that contains information about only 15 of the 27 substrates.

Here are price lists for one yard of 54” wide printing (different widths noted) to get some context of pricing. However, substrate names are not normalized, so it’s difficult to compare without further research or sampling:

From my own experience of custom fabric printing, colorstay, color bleed, and fabric texture (stiffness) have occasionally been an issue, so I was curious to see how MyFabric compared. Upon arrival, the JOANN MyFabric substrates did not appear to have any stiffness issues. The 4-way knit felt more like a poly/Lycra blend than I expected, so I changed my sewing plans for it.

In both substrates, I noticed color bleed and color discrepancies, and the one-yard cuts were not the labeled 54” width. The silk voile measured 52”, and the 4-way knit 58”.

A side-by-side comparison of the customized silk voile on a browser (left) and what I received (right). The motif is more red/purple than the dark aqua than I chose, and color bleed changed the volume of the motif.

A side-by-side comparison of the customized 4-way stretch knit fabric on a browser (left) and what I received (right). Gray and pinks didn’t absorb well, and there was minimal color bleed.

Despite the noted issues, I made an infinity scarf from the silk voile and leggings from the 4-way stretch knit. Sewing with the two substrates was as expected and I had no problems. The silk voile is very lightweight and finicky to work with as silk voile can be, and the 4-way stretch knit was suitable for sewing (combined with serging). I would be interested in working with a simple quilting cotton or a heavier weight substrate next, of the 25 remaining substrates.

My Take

My personalization and sewing experience overall was positive and I was excited to receive the custom fabric, but I think there are a few kinks that need to be worked out with this brand new product offering by JOANNs.

I experienced a handful of software and usability issues that would frustrate most users. I couldn’t find any information about the fabrics when I was ordering, so I found myself guessing at the fabric care based on previous experience. While I personally didn’t have an issue customizing the fabric, I was frustrated that there was no indication of limited color customization of designs (i.e. there was nothing indicating that Breakfast Party could only be edited in scale and repeat type).

From my observation, competitors like Spoonflower and Hawthorne Supply Co. have had more time to grow organically. As a result, they have established expertise on the challenges in custom fabric printing (such as color calibration, colorstay and color bleed). I would be surprised if JOANN’s has been able to quality control test 4,500 designs x 27 substrates (121,500+ choices without customizing color). That being said, I am not surprised to experience color issues on my order, though they weren’t significant enough to stop me from sewing.

I was overwhelmed by the 4,500+ design options and lack of any marketing focus (outside of collections). In all of the press release, landing page, listing, and product detail pages, I see only three photos of items created with these custom designs, so it’s difficult to get a sense of how the designs will work in real-life sewing.

This lack of marketing focus leads me to think more about what the intended audience is here: Is JOANNs experimenting with this new technology to see what sticks? Are they looking to upsell to existing customers (who typically pay less per yard for non-customized fabric) to a more personalized experience? Or are they looking to compete directly with Spoonflower and other print on demand providers? According to other press releases, JOANNs is investing resources leveraging other new technologies (e.g. 3D Printing and the concept store) to capitalize on experience, community, and personalization. I believe these are efforts to keep brick and mortar shops relevant in this age of online shopping. But, I think JOANN’s MyFabric needs a clear audience and supporting marketing strategy to reach a bigger community and gain momentum.

Do as I Say, Not As I Do: Order a Sample

If you find you a design you like from JOANN’s MyFabric, I would advise determining if your local store carries the 27 substrates for you to examine, and visit it to touch the options. Ordering a sample is the best way to test if MyFabric will work for you, as it will help you sort out any color issues like calibration, bleeding, and colorstay. For what it’s worth, this is the same advice I would give when ordering from any print on demand provider.

25 Comments

Rachna
on January 10, 2019 at 7:53 am

The fabric designs uploaded on Joann are basically artworks of artist on weaveup. Joann should have linked individual artist name but probably they want to project these designs are what they are selling. There is price difference in fabric on weaveup and Joann. There will be no issue in repeat etc as weaveup has quality control on their artist submissions and uploads.

I would also like to add that with Joann it’s technology transfer for weave up. They have shared there embedded software with Joann which implies they will be maintaining this software for weave up. This way both of them have diversified. As of now about 4000 plus designs have been shared by weaveup with Joann myfabric. As the present set of clients get use to Joann will have their own designer fabrics.

Thank you for this review. I am an artist on both Spoonflower and WeaveUp so I was very curious to see the differences.

My ordering experience went awry through Paypal, with JoAnn getting it straightened out after a bit, still I have to reorder. Hopefully they will have more of the kinks ironed out. They stated it was because my mailing address was different on Paypal.

As for the color issues, I can tell you that WeaveUp uses a different process for submission of designs.

Spoonflower accepts jpeg and png with the usual color profiles.

However WeaveUp, since they allow color customization on their site, has us submit color-indexed images as TIFF files. This means some of the auxiliary tones or shades of a color may have been shifted. If we want the colors to be customizable they are limited to 12 or less. Depending on the artists wishes, sometimes that means the colors will simplify a bit, if that makes sense.

I am baffled by the success of Spoonflower and the print on demand industry. While it is exciting to see your own designs on fabric, the quality is just not there. I ordered some fabric from Spoonflower once, and thought that quality was considerably less than the mainstream fabric companies. However, I wasn’t completely displeased with it, and it is sitting in my stash. The second time I ordered, I actually threw it in the trash because it was so bad. The fact that it is so expensive makes me wonder–can the average sewist afford to make an entire quilt from print from demand fabric? Why do they buy it when it’s so expensive and the quality is considerably lower? As the owner of an old fashioned brick and mortar, and an online shop, I am always very cognizant of how the customer will perceive pricing for fabric. I guess I just don’t get the allure. I understand the part about wanting a custom print, but when it is considerably faded after washing, and the feel of it isn’t good, why are people flocking to this method? I would hope someone reading this would enlighten me.

POD sites came into existence as there was no minimums offered and custom designs could be done. For designers who had clients but no manufacturing set these sites were a boon. The quality was not a issue as most of the POD sites are used for sampling purposes only. As a designer I have seen that most of times fabrics are sold in very low quantities. I feel people buy samples and then develop quantities elsewhere at better prices and quality. The basic difference between weaveup and spoonflower is that designers at weaveup are not required to buy before then can sell their designs. And at weaveup the designers are not needed to promote their designs on social network. Weaveup has tieups.. All contests in various POD sites are based on voting the larger the votes the better the chance to win . Simply means that quality and designing takes a backseat and social networks are of importance.. The number of designers is large has definitely input is high and swatch sales should be very high at spoonflower :).

Judith, I can answer this as both an average home sewist and separately as a small business owner.

As a sewer, a POD fabric can help with a one time project that offers unique prints that fits what you are trying to make. I sew with mostly quilting cottons and found that I have to use Spoonflower’s Kona cotton for anything of decent quality (less stiffness, etc). But, I could not do this on any regular basis because the price would be cost prohibitive!

As a small business owner, POD is not something I can do, which is very unfortunate because there are many designs from indy designers I would love to bring to my small biz line. The cost of the fabric is about 3 times what I pay from large fabric houses. Obviously this would cut into my very small profit margin.

Jamie, This really makes me sad. As one of the indy designers on Spoonflower and others, I would love to have more connection to makers and small business people.

I will honestly say my hesitancy to begin designing fabrics was the cost buyers would have to pay. I have been an active quilter in the past and realize what goes into completing a project. It is discouraging to see the cost is what keeps people away.

We only get 10% for a commission on Spoonflower, 15% on My Fabric Designs and similar commissions on WeaveUp. I do wish the base costs were not so high, in the end it would be a good thing for everybody I would think.

Very interesting and informative article. Thank you for that.
I’ve never ordered from any of the vendors but understand digital printing and quaity control.
The average buyer of fabric at Joann is extremely cost concious and not too concerned with quality control of color. I frequently find multiple bolts of fabric where the sku’s are identical yet the color variance extreme. If Joann is hoping to sell this service to existing customers I think they’re targeting the wrong audience.

WeaveUp has a completely different target audience to what Spoonflower might have. They are, in my understanding, mostly targeting hospitality and designers who might be part of that process. These would be hotels, convention centers, venues that might have many room decor or pieces of furniture upholstered the same.
I do sell more samples than anything at Spoonflower. Sometimes I see a buyer come back for a yard, but that is rarer. I have had a few makers purchase my designs and I hope to develop those relationships. I am sample poor from proofing my work at Spoonflower, I will take a long time to break even I am afraid.
I have been okay with the quality, though, so far the pieces I have purchased from My Fabric Designs have impressed me more. It hurts a bit to say that because Spoonflower is regional for me and I want to support them. WeaveUp is also regional and I hope to build my portfolio there even more.
I am not sure how the partnership with JoAnn is going to go, but I have not seen any sales yet from that connection. I was cautiously excited about it , but just not sure yet.

We will never know what sold at Joann from our account at weaveup . They never share any details with designers . Most POD sites do , I asked them when I made my first sale there but they are very secretive about it . It really works wonders if designer knows where the design was sold because it helps designer to creat better suited designs . Also there are no trends given by any sites but i feel trends are the competitions they have at spoonflower time and again

I will have to go back and check mine but I know all the samples I ordered for my self from Zazzle were spot on to my colors in my designs, except for one. I cannot remember the name of the fabric right now but it was a natural linen or something, the fabric is not white so the colors were off.

I am a fabric designer at both Spoonflower and Weaveup as well as a freelance designer for a textile company. The majority of my sales have been through Weaveup only when they partnered with Joann’s.
I have not submitted any further designs to Spoonflower and agree with most of the quality comments. I started there by creating tea towels that I give as gifts at Christmas.
I am still optimistic for the joann’s joining and will give it a longer change.

Marie, I am glad you are seeing sales from the collaboration. I have not had any myself but have not added anything new in a while.
Spoonflower is rolling out another new printing technique they say will last longer.

Marie Gully I would like to connect with you , i am also on weaveup . I feel i am selling a lot of designs on weaveup because of JOANN but the commissions are just 3 % so what we make is 0.07 to 0.09 USD per design . BY end of the month it may average to USD . I think in most cases buyers buy repeats and reproduce because never seen any sales repeating to larger lengths . I have a huge collection there .

I had my info a little off. According to a recent email:
By this fall we will be replacing our Ultra fabrics with new color technology.
This means more vibrant colors and prints that are truer to what you see on screen. Added bonus, they wash beautifully! We hope you love them as much as we do.

I do know that the new Petal Cotton seems to be producing brighter more vibrant colors
than the Kona did.

I design and sell fabrics printed by “traditional” textile printing companies in Europe and also on some POD sites such as Spoonflower. On POD sites, the not-so-vivid colors and stiffness issues typically occur when printing on natural fiber (cotton, linen), sadly for quilters and environment-conscious people like me. Polyesters usually print beautifully, by a technique called ink sublimation.

With digital printing, the inks are specific to the type of fiber. On POD sites, cotton and linens are usually printed with pigmented inks, a technique in which the inks remain at the surface of the fabric, thus the stiffness, which is more pronounced on dark or saturated colors, due to the quantity of inks needed to achieve the saturation. In fact, lighter designs, particularly designs with white backgrounds, have a much nicer look and feel.
The alternative to pigmented inks is reactive dyes, which sink into the fiber, producing no stiffness and a much better “hand”. However, the process is lenghtly, involving several steps: pre-treating the fabric substrate, then printing, heat-fixing, washing, and ironing. This is completely impractical for individual orders of a yard or less, and usually printing companies will have a minimal order of about 100 yards or more.
The traditional screen printing technique used by major fabric manufacturers also uses dyes that sink into the fabric, thus the better hand and saturation, but require runs of several hundred yards of a same design.
In short, for natural fibers, it’s a trade-off between the flexibility of very small orders (preferred by POD sites) and color and hand quality (favored by printing companies that cater to professionals and require minimal orders). So POD sites are indeed perfect for proofing designs before ordering large runs, as someone mentionned in this thread. The worrisome part: when a designer sells mostly swatches, it probably means people use thoses to copy the designs and have them printed in large quantity and lower cost — while hedging their bets, by choosing the designs that are higher ranked (i.e. liked by customers) on the POD sites.